The three pillars of ancestral disambiguation are COMMUNITY, RECORDS, and METHODOLOGY.

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1 Board for Certification of Genealogists, Joy Reisinger Memorial Lecture Series Family History Library, October 2018 Rebecca Whitman Koford, CG, CGL SM Disambiguation & Ancestral Identifiers Identifying the differences between men of the same name is a challenge. We must remove the ambiguity of their currently known identity with research and by resolving conflicts. Basic identifiers that help distinguish between men of the same name are included in the list below. With these we can place each man in context and compare and contrast between them. Location Occupation (including military service) Social & economic status Handwriting & literacy Family & community Religion Analysis & Proof The three pillars of ancestral disambiguation are COMMUNITY, RECORDS, and METHODOLOGY. Research Strategy Researching men of the same name takes more effort, for the simple reason that if you have two, three, or six men of the same name, you have that many more people to research. Be patient and pay attention to details. Rebecca Whitman Koford Genealogical Research, LLC All rights reserved. 1

2 Community Ancestors are more than names and dates, they are also identified as part of their community. Look at the records of your ancestors family, friends, and even enemies to discover additional facts. Your ancestor s name may not be in the index, but it could be in the record created for someone else. Review more about researching with the F.A.N. Principle (Friends, Associates, and Neighbors), a concept introduced by Elizabeth Shown Mills (Bibliography, 8). Records Pursue a variety of records to find your ancestor. Seeking to learn about and use records that you are unfamiliar with is especially important. Look through online catalogs of the state archive, state historical society, or local historical society or other repositories for those unique records only available onsite. Find out which records may be inaccessible online and make a plan to obtain them ( , mail, phone, hire another researcher in the area, or travel). Methodology Use tools that give you the ability to analyze the data you are collecting from different angles. Effective use of research logs, tables, learning the context behind the laws and history surrounding your ancestors lives can give you improved focus for your research strategy. Familiarize yourself with the points 3, 4, and 5 of the Genealogical Proof Standard (described at the Board for Certification website). Points 3 and 4 discuss thorough analysis & correlation and the resolution of conflicting evidence. Point 5 covers one of the most underused methods and one of the most useful: writing. Start writing about your ancestor, the research, and why you think you have or have not solved a point. It does not need to be formal at first, pretend you are telling the story of your research to a friend and modify it later. Analysis: Tips Compare dates & locations carefully use tables Confirm all facts believe no unsourced fact Recheck sources Read. Every. Word. Compare and contrast facts in writing. Revolutionary Pension Basics Pensions were first recommended for Revolutionary War service by Congress in The Continental Congress, unable to fund any pensions however, relied on the individual states to qualify applicants and provide funds for soldiers within their borders. The federal government took over paying the pensions beginning in July The rules governing pension eligibility and benefits evolved dramatically over time and with each war. Not all pensions applied for by veterans are extant, for example, many Revolutionary War and early War of 1812 applications were destroyed by fire in 1800 and Rebecca Whitman Koford Genealogical Research, LLC All rights reserved. 2

3 Pension laws evolved over time, sometimes dramatically, until the passing of the military pension General Law System in The amount of the benefit ranged depending on the soldier s rank, degree of disability, or need, and benefits also grew slowly with the standard of living of the time. Widows were required to show proof of a legal marriage with the soldier, sometimes within a set date range. Widows who remarried relinquished their right to continue to collect benefits; pensions may alternately be given to the orphan (under age 16) of the deceased soldier. Pension files are currently part of Record Group (RG) 15, Records of the Veterans Administration, at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. (NARA). Revolutionary pension files (selected records, NARA microfilm M804) are online at Fold3 and FamilySearch. Military Pension Vocabulary Alleged Written on pension papers when proof of service was unconfirmed. Bounty A cash amount paid or promised to the soldier upon enlistment as an inducement to serve. Not the same as a pension or bounty-land. Disability The definition of a qualifying disability changed over time. For most pensions, it involved proven injuries obtained during wartime that resulted in the solider being unable to support his family. Later expanded to degrees of disability and then to persons disabled due to diseases contracted in service. Indigent Service Pension Granted to a soldier based on financial need and a set time of service in the military rather than on disability. Invalid Pension Granted to a soldier based on wounds, injuries, or disease contracted during service. (Invalid meaning injured rather than rejected for lack of validity; IN-valid, not in-val-id.) Old Wars Generally considered service in wars after the Revolution and before the American Civil War, to include Indian Wars, Barbary Wars, War of 1812, etc. Orphan Fatherless child of deceased soldier, usually under age 16, who may be eligible for benefits based on the father s service. Mother may still be living. Pension Financial benefits awarded (usually a set amount on a monthly basis) to a veteran or the veteran s widow or orphans based on military service. Private Act Successful petition to Congress for approval of a military pension resulting in a private bill passed to allow benefits to a named veteran or dependent. Record Group (RG) Service Pension State Pension Sets of records transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) are divided by the name of the original organization or government agency that created the records and assigned a record group (or RG ) number within the archives system. For example, records of the Department of Veterans Affairs are in RG 15. Granted in recognition of military service for a specific amount of time or for involvement in military actions; no proof of need or injury is required. Financial benefits to military veterans or their dependents from the state government, not federal. Some in Revolutionary and 1812 conflicts as well as Confederate southern states after the Civil War. Private Congressional Acts for Pensioners When a soldier s or widow s application for pension benefits was rejected, many next petitioned Congress to seek a private bill allowing their claim. If approved, a private bill would be enacted to overturn the pension office decision. A well-written article by Charles E. Shamel about private claims and legislation is recommended reading for this subject (Bibliography, 27). Another important reference Rebecca Whitman Koford Genealogical Research, LLC All rights reserved. 3

4 is Bockstruck s Revolutionary War Pensions by Private Acts of Congress to 1905 (Bibliography, 12); many private acts are included. Check the Indexes Search the Congressional Journals and Statutes at Large at the Library of Congress Century of Lawmaking, Use House Journal on the right. Another index is available through ProQuest, usually available at your local library. At NARA, speak with or a Legislative Branch archivist, give them the Congressional number, session number, and the committee name related to the House Bill or proposal. Request a pull of any original records relating to that petition if you are at NARA in person or for the records to be copied and sent to you (fees for copying or digitization vary). Bibliography: Identity & General Research Topics 1. Board for Certification of Genealogists. Genealogy Standards, 50th Anniversary Edition. Nashville: Ancestry.com and Turner Publishing Co., Citing Records in the National Archives of the United States, General Information Leaflet 17. National Archives and Records Administration, Archives.gov, 3. Correspondence and Other Writings of Six Major Shapers of the United States Founders Online, National Archives, 4. Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS), Ethics and Standards, Board for Certification of Genealogists, 5. Jones, Thomas W., Ph.D., CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, FUGA. Mastering Genealogical Proof. Arlington, Virginia: National Genealogical Society, "Merging Identities Properly: Jonathan Tucker Demonstrates the Technique," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, 88:2 (June 2000), Lennon, Rachal Mills, M.A., CG. Jonathan Turner More Than A Name: A Carolina Case Study in Dissecting Records, National Genealogical Society Quarterly, 97 (March 2009): Winner of the NGS Quarterly Award of Excellence; available at 8. Mills, Elizabeth Shown, CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, FUGA. QuickSheet: The Historical Biographer s Guide to Cluster Research (the FAN Principle). Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Rebecca Whitman Koford Genealogical Research, LLC All rights reserved. 4

5 Bibliography: Military Sources for the Revolutionary War : Independence to the Civil War, Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission ( 10. Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt, MA, MS, and Luebking, Sandra Hargreaves, FUGA. Military Records, Chapter 11 in The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy, by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, Third Edition. Provo, UT: Ancestry Publishing, 2006, page Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt, MA, MS, FNGS. Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants: Reasons for Issuing Bounty Land Grants. Genealogy.com, Developing Your Research Skills, Revolutionary War Pensions Awarded by State Governments , the General and Federal Governments Prior to 1814, and by Private Acts of Congress to Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Digested summary and alphabetical list of private claims which have been presented to the House of Representatives from the First to the Thirty-first Congress: exhibiting the action of Congress on each claim, Three Volumes. Washington, D.C.: Wm. M. Belt, All volumes, digital images at Hathi Trust, Linn, John Blair, Egle, William Henry, and McClellan, Joseph. Pennsylvania in the War of the Revolution, Battalions and Line, , two volumes. Harrisburg, PA: L.S. Hart, Hathi Trust Digital Library, Military Service Records: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, D.C.: National Archives Trust Fund Board, Pendell, Lucille H. & Bethel, Elizabeth. Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Adjutanant General s Office. Originally published as Preliminary Inventory 17, The National Archives of the United States, Republished Westminster, Maryland: Heritage Books, Edition from 1949 at Pension Roll of 1835: The Indexed Edition. US War Department. GoogleBooks, Plante, Trevor K. An Overview of Records at the National Archives Relating to Military Service. Prologue Magazine, Fall 2002, Vol. 34, No. 3, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Pretchel-Cluskens, Claire. Follow the Money: Tracking Revolutionary War Army Pension Payments. Prologue Magazine, Winter 2008, Vol. 40, No. 4, NARA For Love and Money: Pension Laws Affecting Widows of Military Veterans. NGS Magazine, January-March 2016, Vol. 42, no Rebecca Whitman Koford Genealogical Research, LLC All rights reserved. 5

6 21. Revolutionary Pensioners: A Transcript of the Pension List of the United States for U.S. Secretary of War. Washington, D.C.: A. And G. Way Printers, 1813, reprinted Baltimore, MD: Southern Book Co., Digital images, Hathi Trust Digital Library, Revolutionary War Military Abstract Card File series and Militia Officers Index Cards, series 13.36, Archives Records Information Access System (ARIAS), Pennsylvania State Archives, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files, National Archives Microfilm Publication Pamphlet Describing M804. Washington, D.C.: NARA, Digital at See pages Richards, Henry Melchior Muhlenberg. Pennsylvania: The German Influence in Its Settlement and Development Part XVIII, Pennsylvania-German in the Revolutionary War, (Lancaster, PA: Pennsylvania-German Society, 1908); GoogleBooks, within the digitized collection of the series, begin at page Valley Forge and the Pennsylvania-Germans. Lancaster, PA: Pennsylvania German Society, 1917), 27-29, The German Regiment, Col., Nicholas Haussegger; digital images, Internet Archive, Rose, Christine, CG, CGL, FASG. Military Pension Laws, : From the journals of the Continental Congress and the United States Statutes-at-Large. San Jose, CA: CR Publications, Schamel, Charles E. Untapped Resources: Private Claims and Private Legislation in the Records of the U.S. Congress. Prologue, NARA, Vol. 27, no. 1 (Spring 1995), Scott, Craig R., CG. The Lost Pensions, Settled Accounts of the Act of 6 April Berwyn Heights, MD: Heritage Books, Sherman, William F. and Scott, Craig R., CG. Records of the Accounting Officers of the Department of the Treasury, Inventory 14 (Revised). Westminster, MD: Heritage Books, Valley Forge Legacy Muster Roll Project, Verenna, Thomas. Explaining Pennsylvania s Militia, 17 June 2014, Journal of the American Revolution, Waite, Edward F. Veteran s Pensions: The Law and Its Administration from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War. VCU Libraries, Social History Project, original article from Harper s Weekly (Vol. 86, issue 512, January 1893), Weber, Gustavus A. The Bureau of Pensions, Its History, Activities, and Organization. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Press, Digital images, Hathi Trust, CG and Certified Genealogist are registered certification marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists and are used under license by Board-certified associates who meet program standards and periodic competency evaluations; the board name is registered in the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Rebecca Whitman Koford Genealogical Research, LLC All rights reserved. 6